Pumpkin Tutorial

Requirements: Paint Shop Pro 6 / 7
Basic use of PSP

Start with a new image 400 x 400
transparent background
16.7 million colors

Flood fill with #F69C06 (orange)

Apply Effects / Texture Effects / Blinds
Settings:
Width = 60
Opacity = 100
Color = #B35800
Horizontal = Unchecked
Light from left/top = Checked

Apply Effects / Geometric Effects / Circle

Selection Tool :
Selection Type Circle / Antialias checked / Feather 0
Set at coordinates 200 x 200 (center of your graphic)
Pull out your circle until it comes close to the edges
Selections / Invert - Delete
Deselect (Selections / Select None or use Ctrl + D)
Now you are left with a nice smooth edge.

Deformation Tool :
Pull the top center handle down and the bottom center handle up.
Move the sides in just a bit. Make a nice pumpkin shape (see example).

Effects / Noise / Add 7% Uniformed
Effects / Sharpen / Sharpen

Geometric effect: Cylinder - Vertical
Adjust these setting to suit your pumpkin and make it plump.
I used a setting of 17 for this one.

Add a new layer for the stem.
Using the Freehand Tool (Lasso) :
Selection Type = Freehand
Feather = 0 Antialias checked
Draw a stem, making the bottom rather jagged
(see example).

Flood fill your stem selection with #C18D52 (brown)

Selections / Float
Apply the cut out effect using these settings:
Effects / 3D Effects / Cutout
Vertical = -4
Horizontal = 4
Opacity = 100
Blur = 20
Shadow Color = #90510C
Fill interior with color = Unchecked

Deselect
Apply an inner bevel:
Try the settings shown here, adjust them if you need to.

Add noise to your stem, same settings as before:
Effects / Nois / 7% Uniformed
We could merge visible and stop here with our pumpkin,
or we can dress it up just a bit more!

Let's add a piece of vine.
Styles:
Set your Foreground color to #64663D
Set your Background color to Null
Textures:
Both Null

Add a new layer for the vine.
Using the Draw Tool :
Settings:
Type = Single line
Width = 4
Antialias = Checked
Create as Vector and Closed Path = Unchecked
Draw a nice curly line.
Drag this layer below your pumpkin layer.

Now a few leaves!
Open a new image 200 x 200
transparent background
16.7 million colors

Using the Freehand Tool (Lasso) :
Selection Type = Freehand
Feather = 0 Antialias checked
Draw a leaf outline, making the edges jagged (see example)

Flood fill this selection with #A6A15F (green)
Selection / Float
Apply the cut out effect using these settings:
Effects / 3D Effects / Cutout
Vertical = -4
Horizontal = 4
Opacity = 100
Blur = 40
Shadow Color = #3C3D25 (dark green)
Fill interior with color = Unchecked Deselect

Add a new layer for the veins.
Set your Foreground color to #7C7F4D
Using your paint brush , draw thin lines, try to stay within the leaf shape.
Brush Shape = Round
Size and Step = 1
Opacity, Hardness and Density = 100

Apply a drop shadow:
Effects / 3D Effects
Vertical and Horizontal = 1
Opacity = 100
Blur = 11
Color = Black

Layers / Merge Visible

Effects / Noise / 7% Uniformed

Image Resize 50%, all layers, maintain aspect ratio 1:1
Image / Sharpen / Sharpen

Edit / Copy
Make your pumpkin image active again and paste your leaf as a new layer:
Edit / Paste / As a new layer

Position your leaf where you think it looks best, add a second leaf by pasting another layer.
You can use the deformation tool to move it, rotate it and reshape it if you choose.
Don't forget to Sharpen if you resize and rotate the image.
Add a slight drop shadow to your leaves, merge visible and your pumpkin is finished!

If you save your original pumkin with layers in tact, you can make a variety of shapes and sizes of pumpkins all with your original shape. Just use your deformation tool, or the Geometric Deformations! There are no rules!